U.S. Increases Troops In Iraq Ahead Of January Poll

1 November 2004 -- The United States has begun to increase the number of its soldiers in Iraq to provide security for January 2005 elections, which insurgents are expected to try to disrupt.

A U.S. military spokesman said some forces will stay longer than planned and about 4,000 new troops have begun arriving to join the 138,000 U.S. soldiers already in Iraq.

The spokesman could not say how many U.S. soldiers will be on the ground when the elections take place in January.

The military belives insurgents plan to launch attacks intended to undermine the U.S.-backed interim government by derailing the elections.

(Reuters/AP)